Dumbledore's Army and the Year from Hell
by cribinator
Summary: My take on what happened at Hogwarts during the seventh book. Don't get the ratings so just gonna put a warning about language here.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N : This is my first fanfiction so go easy when reviewing, but be honest. **

**Disclaimer : These characters are JKR's, not mine, seeing as if I were JKR, I wouldn't be posting stuff online.**

The Beginning

Neville walked uneasily onto Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters. Ever since Voldemort took over the Ministry it had been anarchy. People had panicked and run, while others just plain disappeared, most likely dead. Even more had been brought before the Muggle-Born Registration Committee Everyone knew what was going on, but no-one knew who to trust anymore. Neville had looked forward to escaping to Hogwarts, and then he found out Snape would be Headmaster and two Death Eaters (according to Ginny) would be teaching there. This was not going to be fun.

"Alright Neville, now you be a good boy and-,"

"Make my father proud," he said, finishing his grandmothers sentence. He walked onto the train and began looking for his friends.

Seamus had known that this year would be bad ever since Dumbledore's funeral. Snape as Headmaster just confirmed it. Luckily, he was ready to fight back. He thought about opening his bag and checking on the gear that he'd taken from his uncle, but that would risk it being given away to the "discreet" Death Eaters on the platform, who looked to be watching for any signs of disobedience. He kept his head down, against his instincts and boarded the train. He knew Dean wouldn't be there, having warned him about the MBRC himself, so he went looking for Neville. As he walked down the train, he looked around. There were far less students than usual, and the ones that were there looked scared as hell. He was contemplating this when a compartment door opened and Theodore Nott came out and bumped into him.

"Watch it Nott," he snarled instinctively. Nott just smiled.

"Careful now Finnegan, don't want to piss off the wrong people do you?" Nott replied. As he said this, Crabbe and Goyle came out of the compartment, staring at him and cracking their knuckles.

"Can't fight your own battles Nott?" said a voice behind Seamus. He turned around slowly to see Neville standing there. He knew it was rude, but he couldn't help staring. It looked like Neville, but he'd gotten skinnier and a lot taller and didn't look scared for once.

"None of your business Longbottom!" Nott snapped, thinking he still had the advantage.

"_Mucus ad Nauseam!" _came a voice from behind Nott, whose face was suddenly covered in little flying bats. Then Ginny and Luna stepped forward and pointed their wands at Crabbe and Goyle, who, recognizing that they were outnumbered, retreated into the compartment.  
"Well, that's a good way to start the year," said Seamus. "C'mon, lets go find a compartment."

Neville lead the way to look for somewhere to sit. He was a little uneasy with Seamus, as the two of them had never been close, however now they were the only two boys from Gryffindor in their year, so they should probably look out for each other.

"In here," he said, going in and sitting down. The others followed. There was an awkward silence between them, until Seamus decided to break the ice.

"So...have a good summer?" he asked awkwardly. Ginny snorted.

"Well, let's see," she began sarcastically. "We collected Harry from his aunt and uncle's place, and then they got attacked by Tommy's arselickers. Mad-Eye died, and George lost an ear. Then Harry, being the Git-Who-Lived, or The Chosen Git, whichever you want to call him, decided it was his fault and tried to leave early. Luckily he got shouted down. Then we went through the hell of trying to organise a wedding, while me and Harry pretty much avoided each other. Him, Ron and Hermione kept trying to meet to organise a plan for... whatever it is they're off doing, while my mum was determined to keep them separate. Then me and Harry kissed on his birthday, and Ron, being a colossal prat, interrupted us and apparently warned Harry about messing me about. Git. Then we had the wedding on the same day Tommy-Boy took over the Ministry, so they decided to crash the place to try and find Harry. Luckily, the three idiots got away, so they just decided to torture the rest of us for information. No permanent damage though, luckily. So, all in all, not much. How 'bout you guys."

Neville blinked. He had no idea it was that bad. Looking around, he saw that Seamus looked justaas shocked as him. Luna, however, was smiling calmly as usual.

"I wouldn't much like to have a summer like that," she said in her usual dreamy voice. "Although, it does sound more exciting than my summer, as Daddy was very busy with The Quibbler, as the Ministry has been covering up a lot, and they were obviously corrupt before Scrimgeour died, although it was unusual for a vampire to be Minister. It might be a sign of people letting go of ridiculous prejudices." Neville looked at Ginny and smiled. They were used to Luna's odd views and had heard her say that Scrimgeour was a vampire before. He then shot a warning look at Seamus, who had been about to argue, but thought better of it on seeing his face. Instead he started talking about his own summer, which had apparently been very boring, and just like that, it was if the war wasn't going on, there weren't Death Eaters teaching at Hogwarts and so many of their friends weren't in hiding. Even Ginny tried to talk about normal things for a few hours. However , this proved impossible as they noticed the new teachers patrolling the train, looking angry.

"Why'd you reckon they're so pissed?" Neville asked. Seamus smiled humourlessly.

"Probably 'cos they're looking for Harry and any Muggleborns that were dumb enough to come, and all they have are a few first years, who have hopefully been warned to hide."

"What do you reckon they'll do with them?" Neville asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

"If they're lucky, they'll be killed," Seamus said darkly. "If not..." he left the rest unspoken. Neville fought back his nausea as he remembered the pain of the Cruciatus and imagined it being performed on first-years.

"We have to do something!" Ginny said angrily. Luna nodded.

"How?" Seamus asked bitterly. "Whatever we'll do, we'll probably end up dead. I wouldn't mind if thought that the "noble sacrifice" would do any good."

"It might inspire others to fight," Luna answered calmly. Seamus snorted.

"Yeah and they'd end up just as dead," he said angrily. "Look, I'm all for fighting back. I'm just saying we can't do shit on our own."

"Seamus has a point there," Neville said, an idea beginning to form in his head. "We need more people involved if we're gonna fight back."

"And how do we manage that?" Ginny asked sceptically. In answer Neville pulled out his old DA coin. "We get an army."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: When I said don't be too harsh with reviews, I didn't mean don't review. I want opinions as I'm writing this.**

**Disclaimer: Still not JKR**

**New Hogwarts**

"Now, I hope you were paying attention when I advised you all to behave. The Professors Carrow have been placed in charge of discipline and will deal harshly with any infraction. I would rather avoid any unnecessary spilling of blood if it can be helped, however, I know that some of you are extremely thick-headed, so I am probably wasting my breath. Now, all of you, to bed." Snape's eyes had seemed to wander over to the Gryffindor table and Neville couldn't help wondering if he knew they were making plans to fight back. They had sent the date that he thought would be best for meeting over the coins, so he would just have to wait and see what happened. He made his way up to Gryffindor tower, and, arriving in the common room, was confronted by Lavender and Parvati.

"Neville! Do you know what the message on the coins is about?" Parvati asked.

"Yes, given that I sent it. Just be at the usual place on that date at the usual time," Neville replied cryptically. They attempted to badger him for more information, but he shrugged them off and went to bed, falling asleep quickly.

####################################

Seamus woke up early the next morning and lay in bed for a while, unable to get back to sleep due to Neville's snoring. He had a bad feeling that things were going to go arseways very quickly, what with their "brilliant" plan to fight back. Oh, he was all for it, he just didn't think it would go well with the odds. He decided to hide the gear he'd brought with him from his uncle's house that he'd packed in his magically extended case, that, unless opened in a certain way, would conceal it's true contents. He found the case and, after careful consideration, took it down to the Room of Requirement, making sure that only he would be able to get at it, due to some of the charms on the Room. By the time he was done, it was time for breakfast.

Seamus made his way downstairs and met up with Neville. Breakfast was mostly a subdued affair, what with Snape still sitting at the head of the Great Hall and having his usual depressing effect. Then, they received their timetables, which joy of joys had Muggle Studies(which was now compulsory for everyone) as their first class and Dark Arts( the defence part had been dropped as Snape "believed it would be more productive to learn these interesting lessons") straight afterwards. The afternoon would be a little more relaxing with Charms and Herbology, but it still looked to be a long day. On their way to the first Muggle Studies class, Neville took Seamus aside.

"Listen Seamus, we don't know what's going to happen here so try and stay calm and no smart answers, _please,"_ he said. "We don't want to make them too mad the first day." Seamus smirked.

"I know I've a habit of speaking before I think, but I'm not an idiot," he answered. "I don't want to piss off the two teachers most likely to snap, and that's saying something, giving that Snape hasn't gone crazy with how much of an arsehole he is." Neville snorted and they went into the class.

"...and that is why these thieves of magic cannot be tolerated in a safe, pureblood society." Alecto Carrow's introduction to Muggle Studies had been mostly along this vein, everything they'd learnt before was wrong, muggles were dangerous and had to be stamped out. Seamus had tuned it out, to avoid losing his temper, but it seemed Neville had forgotten his own advice, as he was raising his hand.

"Yes, Mr Longbottom?" she sneered.

"Well, just curious, but how exactly does someone steal magic?" he asked sceptically.

"I will not tolerate cheek!" she screeched angrily. "_Crucio_!"

Neville screamed in pain as Seamus started, shocked. He had known she was a Death Eater, but not how crazy she was, or how confident that the Death Eaters really felt, now that they controlled the Ministry. His surprise meant that Neville was under the curse for a full minute before he did anything.

"_Buail mise!_" he shouted, then screamed as the curse hit him instead of Neville. Thirty seconds passed then Carrow lifted the curse and ordered them both to leave the classroom ten minutes early, and "not to come back until they had learned appropriate respect". And they were forbidden from going to the hospital wing. They staggered out, leaning on each other for support.

###################################

"What the hell was that?!" Seamus exclaimed as soon as they were out of earshot. Neville shrugged.

"I was testing the waters with a simple question," he replied nonchalantly, trying to cover his wince. "Didn't expect that, but now we know not to piss off the woman who is apparently as sane as Bellatrix Lestrange." Seamus opened his mouth, but instead let out a gasp of pain. This reminded Neville of what he had done in the class.

"So, what exactly was that trick you pulled off in there?" he asked tentatively, unsure if he was overstepping any boundaries. Seamus smiled.

"It's an old Irish spell," he answered. "I learned a load of these off me grandfather. That's a family one that redirects a curse towards me. Very handy for protecting friends, especially as the power of the curse gets lessened by it." Neville was confused. Was he saying that this was a way of lessening the pain of the Cruciatus?

"That seems useful," he said. "Would it work against the Avada Kedavra?" Seamus laughed.

"According to Granddad, yes," he said. "But, it would still have a bad effect. Instead of killing me, it might paralyze me or something. Still, it is better than the alternative."

"Well, whatever it was, thanks," Neville replied, his head spinning with this new information. How many other people knew spells like that? "I didn't really enjoy going through that again." He decided to leave the interesting new ideas for spells aside until the DA meeting.

"Don't mention it, and what do you mean again?" Seamus asked curiously. Neville clenched his fists.

"Department of Mysteries, fifth year," he answered tightly. "Bellatrix Lestrange is a bitch." He left at that and Seamus, seemingly sensing his tension, decided to let it go. They decided that they had better get to the Dark Arts class soon, or risk more torture.

They sat down in the classroom nervously. They were having this class with the Hufflepuffs still and the two of them sat behind Ernie Macmillan and Wayne Hopkins, avoiding the front and the back so as not to draw any attention. Then, Amycus Carrow entered and began speaking about the Dark Arts, starting in a similar way to his sister, what they had already learned was useless, and they needed to embrace the power of the true magic. Neville tuned him out, while shooting Seamus warning looks if he looked like he was about to speak out, even though it felt a bit hypocritical. However, they weren't the only two who didn't agree and had a motivation to object.

"I have to say, this is ridiculous," Ernie said loudly. "What we have learned already is perfectly good." Neville and Seamus tensed for the explosion. Amycus just smiled.

"Thank you for agreeing to demonstrate Mr Macmillan," he said, smiling wolfishly. "Come up and I will show you how the curses I will teach you are more useful than what you already know." Ernie stood up hesitantly, looking as if he regretted his outburst.

"_Diffindo,_" Amycus said, using the hex on Ernie's leg. Neville grabbed Seamus' arm to keep him from retaliating as Ernie screamed and fell over.

"A useful curse, however it is very inefficient," Amycus continued calmly. "_Crucio!" _he said. This time it was Seamus who had to hold Neville back as Ernie writhed on the floor, blood spurting as the cut on his leg widened and banged against the tables. Amycus only kept him under the curse for thirty seconds, then dismissed him to the hospital wing. Neville and Seamus were sent with him. As they left, they heard him asking if anyone else had any objections.

"Not your best idea mate," Seamus said, trying to make light of the situation as Ernie leaned on him. "These people aren't exactly sane."

"I realise that now," Ernie replied through gritted teeth. "However, I hardly expected to be tortured on the first day."

"Well, neither did I," Neville grunted as a stab of pain hit him from his earlier...lesson. Ernie looked at him nervously, then nodded.

"Check your old galleon when you get the chance," Neville continued cryptically, after checking for any unwanted listeners. Ernie looked confused for a minute then nodded again. They continued on in silence.


	3. Chapter 3

**Dumbledore's Army**

**A/N: It might be tricky uploading for the next while, cause I'm back in school, but I'll see what I can do. Also someone who reviewed said I write like JKR Also, please give me more reviews. Thanks for the compliment, although I think you've exaggerated a bit.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned these characters, I wouldn't be writing about them online.**

Neville and Seamus made themselves comfortable as they waited in the Room for the others. It had decided to make a room that looked an awful lot like somewhere you'd have a war council, with a big round table in the center. It was exactly what they needed.

"Do we have a plan, or are we just making it up as we go along?" Seamus asked sarcastically. Why was he asking him? He wasn't in charge.

"Listen Seamus, I just called the meeting. It's not like I'm the leader or anything," Neville answered.

"So then, we're making it up as we go along," Seamus replied, ignoring Neville's objections. Just then, Ginny came in with Luna. She did not look good.

"What happened?" Neville demanded, taking in her jittering and fatigued look.

"She may have offended Professor Carrow in Muggle Studies," Luna replied vaguely. "I think the wrackspurts may have fuzzed up her brain temporarily."

"What'd you say?" Seamus asked. "Cos this genius managed to set her off with a very neutral question.

"And you're the brainiac who redirected that Cruciatus onto yourself," Neville replied, then kicked himself mentally, feeling like he sounded ungrateful. But Seamus kept grinning.

"You still got it worse so I win," he said. "But we're getting off-topic. What did you say?" he asked Ginny again. She gave a slightly bashful look.

"I may have called bullshit on the drivel she was spewing," she answered. "Literally." Seamus stopped smiling.

"You cursed at a Death Eater?" Neville asked angrily. He was seriously pissed off now. If he'd gotten Cruciated for a simple question, what would Ginny have gotten? "Do you want to get yourself killed?"

"I couldn't listen to her going on about how vicious Muggles were," Ginny defended herself fiercely. "You wouldn't have managed to control yourself either."

"I didn't get the chance. I got Cruciated for a minute for asking how someone steals magic and it would've been longer if Seamus hadn't redirected it. What did the bitch do to you?" he was shouting and standing up now.

"Five minutes of Cruciatus, okay?!" Ginny screamed back, crying now. Neville, shelving his anger at her, stepped up to her and wrapped her up in a hug. Just then, Ernie, Zacharias Smith, Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones walked in.

"We interrupting something? Smith asked snidely, before getting elbowed in the gut by Ernie.

"Be polite, arsehole!" he exclaimed. Smith glared at him.

"How's your leg bro?" Seamus asked to dispel the tension that had arisen.

"Bit better, thanks," Ernie replied, still scowling at Smith. This was where Lavender, the Patil twins, Anthony Goldstein, Michael Corner and Terry Boot walked in.

"Everything okay here?" Terry asked, looking around the room at Neville, who was still holding Ginny, and Ernie and Zacharias, who were giving each other death looks. Neville, realizing he was still holding Ginny, blushed and asked everyone to sit down.

"_This is going to be interesting_," Seamus thought. Michael, who he recalled had gone out with Ginny for a bit, was glaring at Neville, who was steadily avoiding meeting anyone's eyes, especially Ginny. Ernie and Zacharias were glaring at each other, with Hannah and Susan acting as a sort of buffer between them. Anthony was looking impassive, Luna was looking off into space and everyone else was looking around either confused or worried. This kind of meeting seemed like a recipe for disaster.

"Okay, well we decided to bring back the DA as way of fighting back against the Carrows and Snape," Neville began. Seamus tensed. His voice was too obviously nervous.

"Do you have a plan, or are we just supposed to cross our fingers and hope for the best?" Zacharias asked sceptically.

"Shut up Zach," Ernie said angrily. "Maybe if you let the man speak, he'll tell you his plan." Seamus cringed. He knew by now that Neville would hate being put on the spot, and, sure enough, Neville began fidgeting, so he decided he'd have to help out.

"Wasn't the idea of this meeting to come up with a plan?" he interjected. Ginny seized on this.

"Yeah, we wanted to see what we _could_ do, before deciding on what we _would_ do," she said quickly. There was a bit of silence following this.

"So what can we do to fight back?" Susan asked to keep the tenuous peace.

"Well, perhaps we could help those who the Carrows hurt," Luna replied calmly.

"You mean like big and loud here?" Hannah teased, with a forced smile on her face, pointing at Ernie.

"Exactly," Luna replied. "The Carrows don't always let us go to the hospital wing, so perhaps we should work on healing ourselves."

"Well, it's not like any of us is a Healer or anything," Zach said, sounding annoyed. Then Michael shyly spoke up.

"Actually, I have been studying basic Healing for the past couple of years on my own time," he said.

"Really?" Padma asked curiously. This seemed to give him confidence.

"Yeah, my parents are both Healers, and when the war started back up I started learning," he said, growing bolder with every word. Seamus smiled. Now they were getting somewere.

"That's brilliant!" Neville exclaimed. Could you teach others?"

"Maybe a couple, but I'm no expert," Michael answered.

"Well, every little helps," Terry said encouragingly. "Does anyone else have something that might help?" No-one answered. Then Neville turned to Seamus.

"What about those old Irish spells you mentioned?" he asked. Seamus tensed. Those spells were dangerous and not the best thing to parade around in public about. Still this was hardly public.

"Well, they're the sort of thing that was around before all this Latin nonsense came around," he said, trying to project a flippant tone. "People used to make their own spells back then before they made it all structured. Now everyone just repeats what others do. I learned some family spells, plus a few tricks to personalise them. Loads of people have them, just under wraps."

"So, what we have is a vague expertise in Healing, and a few old, secret spells," Zach said sarcastically. "Sorry, but count me out." He stood up and made to leave. Then, a silent stunning spell hit him in the back.

"What was that"" cried Ginny, looking around frantically.

"Me," said Anthony, as he walked over and pointed his wand at Zach's prone body. "Obliviate," he said, then turned back to face the others. "My contribution would be skills with the Mind Arts."

**A/N: Okay, that's Chapter 3. So if anyone has an objection, complaint, compliment, comment or insult, review, and tell it to me. Constructive criticism is well received. The part about insults was sarcasm.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I've got 4 people with this on their favourites, and 8 people following. Could someone please give me an opinion, cos I've got a few ideas on how to continue, but I could do with some suggestions. Plus that way you get a story out of your own ideas without having to do as much work yourselves. Help me to help you.**

**Disclaimer: Unless I've magically turned into JKR and no-one told me I still don't own these characters.**

Making Plans

Silence followed Anthony's statement, and Neville decided to seize on it.

"Well, that seems useful. How about we discuss what we can do with it?" he said, attempting to sound calm. It apparently worked, as Anthony returned, leaving Zach's body where it was.

"How about we put a pin in that suggestion, and start talking about what we should do?" Ginny asked.

"Well, what do you think needs doing?" Parvati asked. Neville groaned inwardly. No-one seemed to get it. It looked like he was going to have to explain.

"Look, right now, there's a few hundred other students here, right?" he started. "Even without the Muggleborns. That's a few hundred people here who will have to suffer through the degradation and drivel that the Carrows are trying to force on us. Two ways that they'll be leaving if the Carrows have their way. They could be leaving as good little Death Eaters, or they could be leaving as dead men walking."

"Or women," Luna added.

"What do you mean, dead men walking?" Ernie asked, looking worried.

"Or women," Luna said again.

"As far as they're concerned, anyone who leaves able to think for themselves is a threat. They might challenge their ridiculous system, which is why they got control of this school in the first place. They would need to be killed quietly and discreetly. That applies to us as well, only they might know that they'll have no chance with us."

"How would they know that," Susan asked calmly.

"Umbridge got the list of members, remember?" Neville replied. "But more than that, look at us. Me, Luna and Ginny were at the Ministry. Susan, your family was always against them. Hannah, they've already killed some of your family, and Ernie, you've managed to stand out to them as well. We don't have much chance."

"What can we do?" Lavender said, sounding scared.

"We need to teach others to fight back. Help those who can't help themselves. And we need to learn to disappear," Neville stated. Silence followed this.

"That seems a bit..." Terry started.

"Ambitious," Michael finished.

"I would've said crazy, but ambitious works," Terry said.

"Why is it crazy?" Seamus asked.

"What can we teach people that won't get them killed?"Michael asked.

"How to defend themselves," Seamus stated.

"No, more than that," Neville said. "We need to form a proper army, not just a defense club. We need to show them that they have no power here, that this is not their place and that they're not welcome here."

"Again, how do we avoid punishment, which, as we've seen is kind of strict?" Michael asked.

"We don't get caught," Ginny stated simply.

"Easier said than done," Anthony murmured.

"Not really," Neville replied. "You've already showed us how you can keep us a secret."

"But what if we have another traitor?" Anthony asked. "Hermione's spots jinx won't exactly do much good if it only comes into effect."

"So we change it," Luna said plainly. "Make it a jinx that prevents someone from telling the secret, rather than punishing them for it."

"How?" Terry asked worriedly. Anthony looked thoughtful.

"I might be able to do a delayed Memory Charm, one that only activates if someone makes the decision to reveal sensitive information," he suggested.

"But what about recruiting new members?" Ginny asked, and the debate this started gave Neville an opportunity to relax, thinking his job was done for the moment.

Seamus thought things were going rather well now. No-one was being aggressive and people had actually started coming up with good ideas. Now it was his turn.

"Alright, we have security down,but what about attacks?" he started.

"What do you mean, attacks?" Padma asked.

"I mean, ways to give people hope, to encourage them to fight back," he said. "We can talk about security all we like, but we need to have something to secure."

"So, what should we do, run around attacking the Carrows and then wiping their memories," Terry said sarcastically.

"No, we'd obviously have to be more discreet," Seamus answered, fighting the urge to shout at him. "Graffiti, vandalism, pranks, maybe attack people like Malfoy or Nott who help them."

"What good will that do?" Hannah asked.

"It'll make them uncomfortable and show people that we are fighting back," Seamus answered. He was getting annoyed now. Neville had been too quiet for a while, and he was in charge here. "What do you think Neville?" he asked, trying to get him back in the conversation.

"Why you asking me? I'm not in charge!" Neville exclaimed. Seamus raised an eyebrow.

"Looks like you are to me," Parvati ventured. Around the table the others agreed.

"But why do you want me?" he asked. "I'm no good, I screw everything up." Seamus really wondered what his problem was. Did he honestly think that just because he was a bit clumsy at times that he screwed everything up?

"That's not true," Luna said. "You're good at a great many things."

"Like what?" he asked skeptically.

"Herbology, for one," Hannah said. "You can make anything grow, where others would give it up for dead."

"That's just-" Neville started.

"You're one of the bravest people I know," Ginny interupted. "At the Ministry, you had a broke nose and a wand that wouldn't work for you, and what did you do? You poked a Death Eater in the eye." Some of the others gaped at this. Seamus just laughed.

"You're an excellent friend," Luna said. "You're always there to help if someone needs you."

"You've shown us today that you're a good leader as well," Ernie said. "You definitively have my support." Everyone was nodding at these statements, but Neville looked to be panicking.

"Can't-. Not good everything-," he was muttering. He jumped up, still muttering, and ran out of the room. Silence followed.

"That went well," Seamus stated to break the tension. There were a few nervous laughs, but most still looked a bit worried. No-one noticed Hannah slipping out after him.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I don't see what the deal is. I have 10 people following this story and 5 with it favorited. Is there only 2 of you who have an opinion? I'm a little unsure about this story and could really use a few opinions on how I could improve it.**

**Disclaimer: I still don't get why I have to do this every time, but here it is, I don't own Harry Potter or these characters.**

Confessions

As soon as Neville got out, he broke into a run and hid behind a statue the was nearby. He was hyperventilating and panicking. Why should he be in charge? He was a disgrace of a wizard, almost a Squib, he screwed everything up... His thoughts were brought to a halt by footsteps nearby.

"Neville?" he heard. It was Hannah. They'd been good friends since the DA in fifth year, and they'd gotten to know each other fairly well. She was stubborn, but she couldn't know for sure that he was there. He could wait her out.

"Neville Longbottom, I know you're behind that statue, and if you don't come out now, I will drag you out!" Fuck. She wasn't going away now so Neville stepped out warily. She was standing in front of him with an angry look on her face, so he decided to try calm her down.

"How'd you find me?" he asked tentatively.

"It was obvious, and don't change the subject," she replied. Well, that didn't work. "Come here Neville." He did what she said because he didn't want to get her angry. She gave him a smack on the head, then pulled him close in a hug. Neville was a bit confused, but he often was with Hannah.

"Oh Neville, you still have all your self-confidence issues, don't you?" she asked.

"Why would I be self-confident, when I'm no good at anything?" he replied, getting annoyed.

"Now you know that's not true Neville," she said. "You just heard a good few good points about yourself in that room there, so pray tell me, why are you still so convinced that you're shit at everything?"

"Because I am!" he shouted. "All my life, I've never been as good as my father, the hero Auror, the man who gave up everything for me! All I've ever been is just that little bit more than a Squib, a useless wizard who can barely look after himself! And you want to put me in Harry's place? Do you want everything to get fucked up?!" Hannah looked stunned at this outburst, but recovered quickly.

"Neville, what happened to your father? You never told me," she asked softly. Neville realized he'd said too much.

"Never mind, it's not important," he replied, making to leave. But Hannah stopped him.

"It's bothering you, so it clearly is important," she said stubbornly. "I haven't pushed this issue before because it was personal and none of your business. But I can't help you deal with it if I don't know what it is. They aren't dead, because that wouldn't bother you in this way, so what happened to them?" Neville realized she wasn't going to give up, but he didn't want to deal with this right now. He didn't want her derision when she realized how useless he was. He made to leave again, but she grabbed him, and sat them both down on the ground, then just looked at him. He then saw he had no choice but to tell her.

"No, they're not dead. They're worse," he started. "When I was about a year and a half old, four Death Eaters came to our house, shortly after You-Know-Who disappeared, looking for information on what happened, which my parents didn't have. When my father didn't give them anything, they started to torture him, then my mother. They had them under the Cruciatus for almost a full day. The human body isn't meant to handle that much prolonged pain without any actual injuries. Their minds couldn't handle it. They're in the permanent residents ward in St. Mungo's. I've gone to visit them a few times with my grandmother. They don't recognise us, or respond to anything. There's nothing there." He stopped, seeing the stunned look of pity on her face. Not wanting to wait for that to change, he got up and left. Neither of them saw Seamus standing nearby, listening in.

Seamus walked away from the Room, laughing. It wasn't funny of course, but watching Ginny and Luna try to take control of the others was ridiculous. They were sixth-years. Yes, they'd been through more than the others, but all everyone else saw was a spoilt little girl and a weirdo, and just left it at that. Seamus left, because he couldn't control his laughter about how similar to sheep they were acting. Take away the shepherd and everyone starts panicking. Then he saw Hannah and Neville sitting on the floor and stopped, unsure if he should interrupt what seemed like a private conversation. What he overheard though, shocked him to his core. Neville had been dealing with this all his life? No wonder he never talked about his parents. Seamus resolved then and there that he was going to help Neville through this, because, even though he didn't know it yet, the school needed him.

As he entered the dormitory, he saw Neville lying in bed, pretending to be asleep. He would love to let him lie here , but they needed to talk.

"Neville, I know you're awake," he said. "You snore like a bleeding chainsaw. Anyway, we need to talk." This got him sitting up. "About what?" he asked.

"About why we need you," he answered calmly. This got him lying down again. "Fine, you don't want to talk, then you can just listen. You're the best person for the job. If you don't agree, who do you think should be put in charge. Lavender, with her gossipy nature? I don't think she's empty-headed, just not her area of expertise. How about Ernie, the posh bastard, who, while a decent bloke, doesn't really know a thing about keeping a cool head? Or Michael, the guy so dumb, he broke up with Ginny over Quidditch? I mean, Ginny could do a good job, if the others would listen, but no-one actually sees her. They all see the girl who broke up with Michael over Quidditch, broke up with Dean because he was being a gentleman and jumped on Harry first chance she got. Luna is seen as a crazy girl who'd have us looking for imaginary creatures. So let me ask you again, who would you choose?" By now, Neville was sitting up again.

"But how am I any better? I break everything, I'm almost a Squib, everyone always spends the whole time laughing at how clumsy I am..." he trailed off, giving Seamus a chance to jump back in.

"Why do you keep saying you're almost a Squib?" he asked. "Way I see it, you're a fairly decent wizard and the only reason you don't do as well as you should is because you don't believe you can. Also, everyone laughing at you? Were we in the same room just there? Cos what I saw was a whole lot of people putting their faith in you." Neville was silent for a moment.

"I don't remember when I first thought I was a Squib. I do remember being called one a lot by all my cousins when I was younger. Gran was always scared I might be one. I guess I was just convinced that I was useless."

"Well, you're not," Seamus replied firmly. "I'm going to let you go to sleep, but I want you to think about this. You're a good wizard. You're a great person. You were a brilliant leader earlier. You're also one of the bravest people I know, including Harry. Remember that." With this, he lay down and went to sleep, leaving Neville to think about that.

**So, that's five chapters. Again, any problems, review, and I'll try to fix or explain them. Also funny bit of information. Apparently spell-check doesn't like Cruciatus, Quidditch, Ginny or Gran. I got excruciate, which makes sense, crucial, which doesn't and my favourite, crochety for Cruciatus. Quidditch was kiddish, which seems unlikely, as it's a dangerous sport for kids. Ginny was either a ninny, or somehow related to Enda Kenny. Gran is apparently meant to be Iran. Interesting analogy. **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: OK, the story's going to pick up a bit now. I'm going to make this chapter a bit darker, and introduce one or two new characters. **

**Disclaimer: Yes, I own these characters... oh wait, no I don't, I'm a sixteen-year old.**

**Taking Control**

Neville opened his eyes. He hadn't slept. What Seamus had said had shaken him. They needed someone to lead them, and the others weren't going to do it. Should he do it? _Could _he do it? He decided to go for a walk and get some air. It was still early, so there shouldn't be many people up.

He left the common room and decided to go to the Astronomy tower, as it was open to the air. However, as he got there, having planned to just sit and think, his plans changed. There was a young girl up here, sitting on the ground, crying.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked tentatively.

"Please, don't, no more," the girl cried softly. The fear and grief in her voice made his blood run cold. He made his way over to her and sat down beside her.

"I won't hurt you. Ever," he told her. "What happened to you?"

"I can't," she replied. "They said they'd kill me, and the teachers wouldn't punish them, cos they were too scared of the new ones." Neville clenched his fists. They saw themselves as invulnerable, and the Carrows weren't going to reign them in. No-one was, it seemed. It was left to the students to police themselves.

"They won't hurt you at all," he answered, trying to keep his temper under control. "I'll deal with them. Just tell me who." She snorted.

"Yeah, right," she said derisively. "What can you do, there's only one of you?"

"I have friends," he replied calmly, understanding that her not knowing him left her not trusting him. "One of them is particularly good with Memory charms. They won't remember anything we don't want them to." Something in his eyes must have convinced her, because she slowly gave a nod and began to talk.

Seamus woke to the door opening with a bang. Cursing, he fell out of bed, seeing Neville come in, anger etched deeply onto his face.

"OK, what happened?" he asked.

"Get dressed," he said angrily. "Then fetch Michael and Anthony, and meet me in the Great Hall. We have an appointment with three Slytherins in half an hour." The anger in his voice was so scary, Seamus decided to refrain from complaining about the fact that it was half six in the morning and just let him leave.

"Well, I wanted him to take charge," he muttered, pulling a shirt over his head. "This is what I get."

When he was dressed, he made his way out of Gryffindor tower, and over to Ravenclaw tower. He knocked on the door and the eagle started to speak:

"What gets wetter as it dries?" it asked him.

"Your ma... oh, wait feck no," he said. He'd forgotten about the bloody riddles this shagging thing asked, and how literally it took jokes. Bloody sarcastic reflexes. He'd have to wait a few minutes now, unless someone came out. He was just thinking how unlikely that was at half six in the bloody morning when Stephen Cornfoot, an American lad from his year.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Nice to see you to Cornfoot," he answered. "I'm looking for Michael and Anthony."

"What for?" Stephen replied suspiciously.

"No idea," he was forced to reply. "I'm not making the decisions here

While he looked suspicious, he did turn around and walked back inside. After hesitating for a second, Seamus followed him. Passing the ostentatious statue of Rowena Ravenclaw and making their way upstairs, Seamus wondered about the vanity of founders who put statues of themselves where students would have to walk past it everyday. Obviously Ravenclaw, while intelligent, was also pretty fond of herself.

"Incidentally, how'd you know where our common room is?" Stephen asked as they ascended the stairs. Seamus smirked.

"Less privacy in Gryffindor," he said. "Or at least that's what Lisa said... and Mandy and Sue." Stephen laughed.

"Yeah, you know that none of them can keep their mouths shut, right?" he said. "We've known about them the whole time. Although in fairness, privacy in Gryffindor is probably shit too." Seamus kept smiling.

"Eh, don't care," he smirked. "Got the shift." Stephen smiled

They arrived at the dormitory where Terry was getting dressed, but Michael and Anthony were still asleep.

"You're up early," Terry remarked.

"Neville," Seamus replied by way of explanation. "Looks like he's grown a pair, and he's seriously pissed off at someone. Sent me to fetch these two sleepyheads." Terry nodded, then reached out two hands and smacked them on the head.

"Fuck sake Terry," Michael mumbled. "Just cos we're Ravenclaws, does not mean we have to get up with the birds to study."

"Looks like it's not the usual problem Mike," Anthony said, having taken less time to fully wake up, and having therefore noticed Seamus' presence. "What's been decided then?"

"Don't know," Seamus answered. "But Neville wants me and you two in the Great Hall in... oh, five minutes," he continued, checking his watch.

"What we waiting for then?" Anthony said, getting out of bed and pulling on a pair of trousers. Michael struggled up as well, grumbling the whole time.

"I'm coming too," Stephen said.

"What?" Michael said blearily.

"This is about the DA, right?" he asked. Getting no answer, he continued. "Those bastards killed my mother. If you're going to be fighting them, I'm coming with you." Seamus looked at Anthony, who nodded. Seamus groaned.

"Alright, but you get to explain to Neville," he said. "That lad's seriously pissed off, and I don't want him getting angry at me."

Neville waited in the Great Hall, shaking with rage. Seamus was late and Neville was aching to do some damage to Dumb, Dumber and the Weasel, as his new friend, who was sitting alone at the Slytherin table, called them. Only his common sense kept him restrained. Then, Seamus came in with Anthony, Michael and a dark-skinned American Ravenclaw he was pretty sure was called Stephen... something.

"Seamus, I told you to bring Anthony and Michael and to be here ten minutes ago," he said angrily. "You're late, and you've brought someone extra. Are you taking this seriously or not?"

"OK, first of all, trusting Cornfoot was Tony's call," Seamus answered. "And it's not like I know what's going on, or like you gave me much time to get them here." Seamus' arguments were reasonable, but Neville wasn't in any mood to listen.

"Michael, go help that girl there," he ordered. "She's been beaten and raped, and she can't go to Pomfrey or another teacher."

"What-?" Michael started to question him, but Neville cut him off.

"I don't have time for this, now go help her. Now, Cornfoot, is it?" he turned to Stephen. "You have two choices, you can let Anthony wipe your memory, and forget everything you've just heard, or you can come with us to show three junior Death Eaters the error of their ways." Stephen just nodded, which Neville took to mean he would be helping.

"Right then, let's go."

**A/N: A cookie to whoever can figure out who the three Slytherins and the girl are. It's not the obvious, so don't make any assumptions.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: No-one reviewed again, so no-one gets a cookie. I guess you'll find out who they are here.**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own these characters. Again, do I seriously have to do this every time?**

**Punishment**

"Okay Neville, who we going after?" Seamus asked, getting angry himself. He hated people who picked on those weaker than them, and rapists were his least favourite kind of people. His cousin had been raped about a year ago, and he remembered staying over at her house recently and waking up to hear her screaming in her sleep. She'd been changed and scarred, and he hated people who thought they had a right to do that kind of thing to anybody.

"Dumb, Dumber and the Weasel," Neville muttered.

"Is that Crabbe, Goyle and Nott?" Seamus continued. Neville snorted.

"Calling Crabbe and Goyle dumb is an insult to dumb people," he replied. "It's Harper, Urquhart and Nott."

"Who're Harper and Urquhart?" Stephen asked.

"Pair of sixth-year thugs. Harper's apparently the idiot you often see with bats flying out his nose. Urquhart's the old Quidditch captain who looks a bit like a troll. The're apparently looking for a new outlet now that Quidditch has been cancelled." After that they proceeded in silence down to the trophy room. Apparently, this was where the three had decided to go to celebrate. The four of them waited outside the door.

"Nice work you two," came Nott's thin, reedy voice. "She'll think twice before disobeying me now."

"I just liked hearing her squeal," came a thick, grunting voice. Seamus clenched his fists. He looked at Neville, who nodded.

"Alright you three?" he said, stepping into the trophy room, his cheerful voice contradicting the rage he was feeling. "So this is where you hide. Have a good time last night?" At this, he let a little of his anger into his voice. Harper and Urquhart stood up, placing there hands into their robes.

"Stupefy!" Anthony and Neville jumped in, hitting them before they had a chance to get their wands out. Nott stood up then, but Stephen jumped in then.

"Incarcerous!" he shouted. Ropes flew out of his wand and wrapped around him. He fell over and hit his head, passing out. Stephen then cast the same spell on the other two and turned to the others, who were looking at him in surprise.

"What?" he asked innocently. "You aren't the only ones who learned through self-study." Seamus laughed and smacked him on the back. He liked this lad!

Neville fumed as they walked up the stairs towards the Great Hall. This was taking too long. In about half an hour, all the other students would be getting up to go to classes, and here they were, walking slowly, levitating the unconscious Slytherins in front of them.

"Michael!" he shouted, sticking his head in through the door to the Great Hall. "You done?" Michael came running over, the girl, right behind him.

"Yeah, there wasn't too much physical damage, but I'm a bit worried about leaving her on her own."

"Don't worry Mike," she said, amused. "My sister'll be waiting back in the common room."

"Okay, but be careful Astoria," he replied. "I don't want my work undone." Neville smiled, despite himself. It seemed Michael had done a good job of calming her down. However, he quickly smothered the smile. Now wasn't the time.

"Alright, if you're finished, then let's go," he ordered. "Anthony, make sure she doesn't say anything, then meet us in the Room. And quickly!" They then moved up towards the Room of Requirement, which didn't take as long as Neville had feared. They went in and chained the three unconscious Slytherins to the wall. The room now resembled the dungeons that Filch tended to complain about not being allowed to use any more, minus the whips.

"Ennervate," he said, reviving Nott first.

"What... Longbottom?! Finnegan?! What do you think you're doing?!" he shouted. Neville ignored him and revived the other two.

"Okay now. I'm sure all three of you remember a girl called Astoria Greengrass, yes?" Getting no answer, he proceeded. "Now, I don't like cowards who harm defenceless girls. I also don't like people who attack their own house. You have no honour. But, since this is a first offence, I'll let you off with a warning." At this, the three Slytherins looked a little confused, while Neville gave them a wolfish grin. "Seamus, Cornfoot. Would you two like to deliver this warning?" The two he named stepped forward, similar smiles on their faces.

"Of course," Seamus replied cheerfully, then leaned over to mutter to him: "But remind me never to piss you off."

"Mike, take care of any visible damage, but leave the pain," Neville ordered. "And... Tony, right on time," he continued as Tony came in. "Make sure these three remember our warning, but not who gave it." He got a nod at this. "Okay, well I think I'll leave you guys to it. Enjoy."

**A/N: I know it's a bit short, but I'm kind of stuck on how to continue from here. I didn't think it would be a good idea to show what was done to the Slytherins, so I just decided to leave it.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: If you don't get it yet, is there any point to me telling you that I don't own Harry Potter?**

**A/N: Sorry I've been gone so long, had school, and a few other things, but mostly, it's just been a lack of ideas, coupled with laziness. Okay, mostly laziness, a lot of it. However, I do have one idea now. This may help to move things along, cos it kind of ran away with me a bit.**

**Aftermath**

Seamus made his way back to the common room. He probably had enough time for a shower. Even though Stephen had hit him with a cleaning charm, he still felt dirty. He may believe that the injuries on those three... animals, he supposed was the best word for them, were well-deserved, and even a little lenient (although Stephen's surprise "circumcision" was very well done, if slightly harder to heal), but that didn't help his disgust at the feeling of warm blood flowing onto his hands, or the feel of Harper's nose breaking on that last punch. The worst part was that he knew he would have to do more before the year ended. Shaking his head to clear his mind of these dark thoughts, he entered the common room, then stopped and sighed.

Neville was back and it looked like he'd told Ginny what had happened and she was _pissed._

"Of all the idiotic things to do! You go after a known Death Eater and two of his friends! And do you take me or Luna, the ones who've experienced combat before, and who happen to be women, which might have been better and less invasive for the poor girl? No, you take a pyromaniac, an Occlumens, a stranger and an idiot. Great plan Neville!" At this point Seamus felt obliged to intervene.

"Hey, just because Mike dumped you doesn't make him an idiot. And what would you have done with Cornfoot? And Tony's dead-on," he said, then grinned. " You may have a point about me though, that Uro charm I used looked painful, especially where I aimed it." Ginny froze in surprise at his appearance, giving Neville time to ask:

"Uro? Isn't that usually used for making toast? And what do you mean, where you aimed it?" Seamus grinned.

"A very hairy area that he may have misused a bit," he said, making Neville wince instinctively. By now Ginny had recovered enough to start shouting at Seamus as well.

"Don't give me that spiel. First, I dumped Michael, he didn't dump me, the idiot who couldn't take that a girl was better than him at Quidditch. And Cornfoot should never have been involved! You should have stunned him and wiped his memory. We can't just trust anybody!" She kept going but Seamus just tuned her out, reminded oddly of similar experiences with his mother. Neville however, went a different route:

"We can't trust anybody?" he started, a dubious tone in his voice. "Ginny, the whole school did not turn against us. Everyone does not side with the Death Eaters. We have to trust others at some point. The twelve or so of us can't do this all on our own. Cornfoot could've been a risk, except for the fact that he was never left on his own, and now, Tony will have fixed it so he can't say anything. So, really is that what you're upset about? Or are you upset that I didn't involve you?" he finished.

"Of course I'm upset you didn't involve me! I could've helped with Astoria for a start. Do you really think that it helped after a traumatic experience to have Michael of all people looking at her private areas? And-"

"_Silencio,_" Neville incanted, leaving Ginny moving her lips furiously. Seamus was surprised at Neville's sheer balls at doing this. Ginny scared him, he wasn't afraid to admit it. That temper of hers was legendary, as was her Bat Bogey Hex, which he had seen first hand on the train. But it seemed Neville wasn't done.

"Now, I am going to talk without being interrupted for once," he stated. "Do you trust me at all? Because if you trusted me as much as I trust you, you would've given me a chance to explain why I did things the way I did. Since Michael seems to be your biggest objection, let me clear that up now. Astoria asked me to get him herself. They're cousins and she apparently trusts him. We saw how close they were when, after just five minutes, she was more relaxed and even joked around a bit. Now I'm sure it was just an act to cover up her weakness, but Michael helped to relax her enough to pull it off. Plus he had the medical skills needed to help her injuries, which he had apparently mentioned to her over the summer. Now, if you're wondering why I didn't ask for your help in bringing in the three assholes, well, the truth is, I didn't need it. I know how good of a duelist you are, but I knew that we would be fine. There was three of us in my original plan, and since that relied on getting the drop on them I was sure we'd be fine especially when Cornfoot joined in. Plus the fact that you don't have the brutality needed to scare those three. I'm not talking about in a fight, cos everyone knows that you're a scary fighter. I'm talking about how I basically had Seamus and Cornfoot torture them there. Would you really be able to manage that? To mercilessly cause pain? Now, I didn't know for sure if Cornfoot would be able to either, but from all the stories Seamus has told me about his home life, I trusted that he'd be able to manage it." Seamus started at this. He _had_ told Neville certain, less, savoury details about his life, but he hadn't realised what kind of impression it had made on him. Dean, Ron and Harry had all heard those stories as well, but he had thought it only made an impression on Dean. He shook himself out of his stupor to hear Neville finish his little speech.

"Now, sorry about the Silencing charm, but it was easier than getting you to let me speak. _Finite Incantatem._" At first, Seamus thought it hadn't worked as Ginny still didn't make any sound, then she gave off a little sob and gave Neville a hug. Feeling like he was intruding on a private moment, Seamus turned to leave.

"Seamus," came Neville's voice. "We're going to organise another meeting for today. I'll put it on the coins, but word of mouth might be better, plus Cornfoot doesn't have on." Seamus gave a nod and left.

That evening, sitting with the others in the Room of Requirement, Neville felt less nervous than before, because he had an actual plan for this meeting and also, all day, he had been seeing Nott wince in pain every few minutes during classes, and it was clear that he hadn't mentioned it to any of the teachers out of fear of even more retribution.

"Alright we're all here, and I realise that yesterdays meeting was less than stellar. Hopefully this will be more productive."

"Well, first would you mind explaining what happened this morning?" Ernie asked. The other Hufflepuffs nodded, making it clear to Neville that, while the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws had all been informed by their housemates, they'd forgotten to tell everyone. He proceeded to rectify this.

"Now, any questions?" Neville asked, getting a respectful silence in response. That was going to take some getting used to.

"Right then, we need to discuss what we're going to do next. We need to do something to announce to the whole school that we're back and bigger and better than ever," he started.

"But we're not," Padma said confusedly.

"But they don't know that," Seamus continued for Neville, grinning. "We need to get them on the back foot, looking in all the wrong directions. And as it happens, I have an idea as to how to do just that."

"What do you need?" Neville asked, grinning back. He had a good feeling about this.

"Okay, first does anyone know Disilliusionment charms?" he asked.

"Yeah, a few Auror friends of my auntie taught me some useful spells, including those," answered Susan, blinking back tears at the mention of her Aunt.

"Okay, now Ginny. Two questions. How many of your brothers fireworks do you have and do you know how to modify them?" Ginny gave a devilish grin in response.

The next morning at breakfast, all was quiet in the Great Hall. But once all the teachers had arrived, including Snape, the fireworks started. Literally. They began going off over the hall, startling the teachers and creating chaos. Once people calmed down a bit, they realised that the fireworks spelled out words. Things like "Murderer", "Animal", "Death Eater", and "Monster" floating around Snape and the Carrows. Somehow as well, the word "Rapist" found itself over Nott and his two stooges. But the cherry on the cake was the giant one that said "Dumbledore's Army, Still Recruiting" floating over the entire hall. Dumbledore's Army had officially returned.


End file.
